Larry Francis McNamara

Larry F. McNamara, 82, loving husband, father and grandfather, passed away after a brave fight with cancer on July 13th. He is survived by his wife of 61 years, Maureen (Mo), five children; Michael (Beverly), Mary Liz (Rick Schlosser), P.J. (Katy), Shannon (Michael Verklan) and Shawn Riley (Stacey) and ten grandchildren; John McNamara, Charles McNamara, Casey Schlosser, Noah Schlosser, Alex McNamara, Richard "Rocky" McNamara, Madeline Verklan, Caroline Verklan, Sarah McNamara and Shamus "Jimmy" McNamara. Larry was born on November 6th, 1931 to Charles and Marjorie (LeMieux). He was preceded in death by his father, mother and brother, Charles Jr. He served in the Korean War as a medical corpsman with the Marines. He attended Central Michigan University where he met his future wife, Mo, as a freshman in English 102. He and Maureen were married on July 7th, 1953. He attended Ferris State University before taking over the family business, Mac's Drug Store, which had been founded by his father in 1925. He was joined at the store by his son, Michael, in 1980 and they ran the store together until Larry retired in 1997. In the 1960s, Larry was a member of the Grayling City Council and served a term as the city's mayor. He was also instrumental in founding Grayling Little League. He was a member of the American Legion Post 106, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the Disabled American Veterans and the Military Order of the Purple Heart. He served as a board member for Grayling State Bank/Citizens Bank for twenty years. He was a lifelong member of St. Mary's Catholic Church. Larry was an avid hunter and member of the Hoot Owl Hunt Club which was founded in 1925. In Whitey Madsen's column in The Avalanche, Larry was often referred to as "the Leprechaun" and stories of his legendary pranks abound. He may or may not have been responsible for the shark that was found in Lake Margrethe, National Opossum Hunting Day, green snowbanks magically appearing on St. Patrick's Day and other shenanigans for which the statute of limitations has not yet run out. Visitation will take place on Wednesday, July 16th from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. at the Sorenson-Lockwood Funeral Home. The rosary will be prayed at 7:00 p.m. A funeral mass will be celebrated at St. Mary's Catholic Church at 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, July 17th. In lieu of flowers, donations in memory of Larry may be made to Grayling Little League, P.O. Box 130, Grayling, MI 49738; American Cancer Society - Relay for Life, c/o Wayne Nelson, 500 Ogemaw St., Grayling, MI 49738 or the AuSable Valley Animal Shelter, P.O. Box 384, Grayling, MI 49738. To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Larry Francis McNamara, please visit our flower store.